In the field of telecommunications, telephone calls can be designated as local or long distance. When calls are set up through a network, they are set up through numerous different network devices to establish the connection between the calling telephone and the called telephone. Generally there may be multiple paths (routes) through a network over which calls can be set up and there is generally a cost associated with each route. A particular route is selected to set up each call based on a number of factors. In conventional systems, in the case of local calls in particular, the route selection has been “hard coded” in advance.
For example, for local calls, network personnel determine in advance how local calls should be routed through the network. The network personnel then configure the network equipment in a static way (“hard coded”) to route the calls according to their predetermined route choices. Sometimes, these predetermined, “hard coded” settings are not optimal in terms of any number of criteria, such as routing cost. When a call is received at a network ingress point, the hard coded settings dictate how the call will be routed through the network, regardless of current network or business conditions. As such, the selected route may not be the least costly route for setting up the call.
Furthermore, conventional systems lack the ability to view routing operations of network devices, such as switches. Such visibility into routing operations could be used by network operators to better understand network routing statistics, which can in turn impact network management decisions. Unfortunately, local routing statistics are not currently being gathered and presented in a way that is useful for making knowledgeable network management decisions.
Accordingly, particularly in the case of local call routing, the conventional route designation process is manual, and does not take into account current conditions such that calls are routed in an optimal (e.g., least cost) fashion. Network call setup devices are relatively inflexibly configured and do not adjust routing based on network dynamics. In addition, conventional systems do not provide visibility into local call routing statistics.